Virginia and St. John’s meet in the second round of the NIT on Sunday, 10 years after their most recent encounter in the tournament. Safe to say, Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield will never forgot that 2003 Cavaliers-Red Storm game.

Enfield and his Eagles, seeded 15th in the NCAA tournament’s South bracket, seized the national stage Friday night when they upset second-seeded Georgetown here in Philadelphia, advancing to a Sunday clash with San Diego State.

The victory, not to mention the constant attention of CBS’ cameras, brought further attention to Enfield’s wife, former supermodel Amanda Marcum. During Saturday’s off-day interviews, Enfield recalled the couple’s meeting and their subsequent first date.

Marcum and Enfield met through mutual friends in New York. Raised in Oklahoma and an Oklahoma State fan, she was headed to watch the Cowboys play in the 2003 NCAA tournament in Boston.

“Amanda had the tickets, and I said that, ‘Well, if you're going to go up, you can just come with me. I'm going to drive. … Save yourself $500.’ Then I pulled up to the Starbucks in Manhattan to pick them up, and as soon as I saw Amanda get in my car, I knew it would be a good trip. So I had a great weekend.”

A week later, Enfield invited Marcum to St. John’s on-campus NIT game against Virginia, which the Red Storm won.

“I was going to take her out to a nice dinner beforehand,” Enfield said, “but we got to Queens and I couldn't find a restaurant that I thought was either nice or she wanted to go to. I said, ‘There has to be something on campus, let's go to the student union. There's got to be a Chili's or something.’

“Well, the only thing that was open was Taco Bell. She stuck with me. I got her a nice burrito and we sat behind the bench, and I figured if she still likes me after Taco Bell and a basketball game.”

Fast-food burrito notwithstanding, he and Marcum were married in 2004.

“She loves college football and basketball,” Enfield said. “She used to go to sports bars by herself like at noontime on a Saturday afternoon because Oklahoma State was playing football. She would be the only female in the bar. She was belly up to the bar and watch football.

“You can imagine with 300 guys in the bar and here she is watching football by herself, but she made it clear to everyone that came up to her, ‘Hey, I'm watching football so don't talk to me.’ But she's such a big fan, and I thought that was really why we got along so well, because of her interest in sports.

“And then she's just a down-to-earth person, and what a sacrifice she has made, to give up, from flying all over the world doing fashion shoots for some of the biggest designers on the planet to moving to Tallahassee, Florida, which is a nice place, but it's not New York and it's not Milan and it's not Sydney and it's not Paris.

“So I'm just very blessed to have someone like her with me, and this is a celebration for her and my family, as well, because for her to sacrifice, it just makes me feel great to see the smile on her face knowing what she gave up to be here.”

I can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com. Follow me at twitter.com/DavidTeelatDP